one day more...

That may or may not be a reference to the upcoming Les Mes movie. Christmas Day!! I can't wait :) So-I have nearly survived this crazy week. And even better, I survived without failing any tests!!!! BoM was awesome today; 97! Woot woot. I know that it's probably boring to hear about tests scores, blah blah blah but right now it seems like that's all I do, so I'm staying accurate in describing my schedule. Even if it's all about the joys of test-taking in college.

almost-done.
survivor right there.

I fit in a run at the gym instead of doing laundry, which, in hindsight, wasn't so smart because I'm rapidly running out of clothing essentials. To the basement tomorrow, it is! After I finish that Spanish test..

halfway through!

Wednesday means it's halfway through the week...and this Wednesday means that I only have one week before finals and then going home and visiting Disneyland!! There's not really much of an update today, except that I am 2-for-2 on my tests so far; I scored a 92 on the multiple choice section of my math test! Not too shabby. Then I went home, visited the gym, should have done more homework, but I watched Castle instead because I figured I deserved a break. It's just BoM tomorrow and then Spanish on Friday! The weekend plans so far include my ward's trip to see the lights at Temple Square on Saturday which should be fun :) It's never a dull weekend here in P-town!

puffin sweaters are good luck.

The title of tonight's post may be a little confusing, but trust me-it all makes perfect sense. Today was the beginning of the end of my social life; the first of four tests in four days that are happening two weeks before finals. I took PD Bio today; tomorrow brings calculus, Thursday is BoM, and Friday is the big finisher with Spanish. I knew today would call for extra courage, so when I left my dorm room I made sure I was feeling clearly clean, classy, and cute.

puffins are perfect. pardon the earphones-
i just can't not listen to christmas music
now that it's past thanksgiving.

It was a pleasant surprise to be complimented by multiple bird-savvy random strangers too! "I love your sweater!" "Is that a puffin?!" Only one person misidentified this fine fowl as a seagull, but he doesn't count. That's right-E-I'm looking at you. View no. two of the cool chick below.

check out mah puffin.

So not only did my puffin sweater bring me some sweet compliments, but it also helped me score a NINETY-FOUR on my test!!!! That's the highest bio test grade I've gotten all semester!!! It must be the lucky puffin. AND I found out tonight that I finally made it off the waitlist for my Anatomy lab!!! Woohoo! So my schedule is finally finalized for winter :) It will certainly be a change from my 9 o'clock morning classes...I'll have to wake up a whole hour earlier!

le final schedule.

So, all in all, today was a good day. I'm nervous for the rest of the week, but maybe I can carry my puffin around with me to ensure my success. Or I could stop typing long blog posts and get back to studying....

Sunday recap

The fam left on the long long drive back to California at 5 am this morning. I will definitely miss them :( On the plus side, it's literally three weeks until I go home for Disneyland and Christmas! ...But on the downside, I have just about a test in every class this week, one week to study, and then it's finals. Bring it!

After the fam left, it was back to bed, and nobody woke up until 10. Good thing church doesn't start until 1! It was really neat to be able to go to Sunday School and then Relief Society with Amma and J. I felt like such an adult! Then after church it was time to get some homework done, relax, eat a delicious dinner of turkey rolls (leftover turkey/stuffing/cream cheese/green onions all wrapped up in a crescent roll) and pomegranate salad with the last of the coconut cream pie for dessert. It's the last home-cooked meal for a while, so forgive me for posting such a decadent description, ok? Then it was the first Christmas movie of the season-Elf!!! The best. You can always count on Buddy for some laughs :)

And now, for the final photo dump from Thanksgiving weekend!!

sick.

and more sick kids. boooo.

THE PUZZLE. 1000 piece masterpiece.

giving these three the grand tour of BYU.

side note: it was really fun to bring A, S, and Amma up to BYU to see my dorm and the campus. I loved hearing the stories about how BYU was 50 years ago, courtesy of Amma! Fun fact-she stayed in the same hall that my friend K is in right now!! What are the chances?!

wish i could french braid my own hair so it could
be wavy when i wanted it to be...

lulu gets all the bobo's now that lil's gone!!!

amazing weekend. I'm so grateful for my forever family. These next few weeks will be hard, but I know I can get through it! I hope everyone else's Thanksgivings were wonderful. Now, countdown to Christmas!!!

saturday is a special day..

Ok. Basically the entire household was sicker than a dog, starting at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning. Poor A, K, and the mom were all stricken with a nasty virus or something. It made me sad because I couldn't spend a lot of time with them, and it's their last day in Utah! The fam leaves at around 4 a.m. tomorrow...I wisely have decided to hang out at J&J's with Amma and the Grandpa, sleep in, go to church, and get some hw done before heading back to the dorms.

Took S, Amma, and A on a tour of Helaman Halls and BYU this afternoon while everyone else was afflicted at home. It was fun to hear about BYU "back in the day" from the grandma :) This girl really missed out...

poor baby. at least lilly's watching over her..

..because we also went to the Creamery and Barnes and Noble! And I know she loves a good bookstore...

I'm going to miss these guys a lot. More than I thought!! And a nice big house...and home-cooked meals...and game nights...and a flat-screen tv.... So the countdown until Christmas break begins. Let's hope I can survive the upcoming weeks of tests and then finals. I think I can I think I can...

black thursday and the three f's

I have been trying to post the happenings of the last couple of days, but between a spotty wifi and too much fun....it just didn't happen. So here we go!!

Thanksgiving was fabulous: and involved the traditional three f's of Thanksgiving- family, food, and football. See below for family full of food and watching football.

I realized I've missed my family a lot- though I'm not sure about this face...

And then-we realized that our favorite stores opened at 10 pm on Thanksgiving! So it was a Black Thursday for us, not Black Friday! But don't worry, we still got our shop on for Friday as well. 

A and I at the outlets!

the other A and I in line for J.Crew! It was a smashing success!

Friday we watched more football and headed up to Temple Square to walk around and see the lights. Stopped by Macy's to see the ZCMI candy windows-they were super amazing!

Reunited and it feels so good! Can't wait to see them again at Christmas time for Disneyland and more R&R.

Awful red-eye...I tried to fix it but gave everyone black eyes. Whoops.

 Ate dinner at the Nauvoo Café, but it was packed so we were sent downstairs to the "extra dining". Umm, do you mean the lunch room?

Complete with someone vacuuming and a homeless guy.
It's always an adventure with the Olson's!

 Rode up to the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and saw this perfect view!

I love to see the temple!

So there is the recap for Thanksgiving weekend! Today brings a Costco trip and maybe a visit to my dorm room/the BYU campus. A & K are recovering from a nasty stomach bug; let's hope nobody else gets it (especially me during finals!). Hey, it's always an adventure...

reunited!

The fam arrived from California today!!! So good to finally be reunited. Lots of hugging and laughing and eating began....and will continue throughout the entire weekend, I'm sure!

...awkward angle, but I'm super happy to be reunited with this girl. The rest of the weekend includes Black Friday shopping, showing the fam around Provo, and the Salt Lake Temple Square lights. Can't wait for another amazing weekend :)

I know, I know...

I will admit, I haven't blogged for the entire weekend. This was partially in fact because it was super busy and fun, but more likely the culprit is my laziness and Thanksgiving-itis. (As I write this, I wait for my last class of the day to start...and end, so I can go to a math and bio review and BE DONE.) So, here it goes-a very long and picture heavy weekend recap.

Friday: Two words- paint fight. I went with some friends up to Lehi for a paint fight and dance party. It was held in a giant warehouse that they tried to cover with plastic wrap to minimize the damage. We got water guns filled with paint, waited for the countdown, and the epic battle began!  By the end of the night I was surrounded by friends that looked like cheetos. It was great.

Orange cheeto friends. 

Assessing the damage...

Pretty covered.

Saturday: C. and I somehow made it out of bed to make it to a calc review up on campus at 10. Miracle of miracles! After that, we celebrated with some In-N-Out, and then went back to campus to see the play "The Holiday" for C.'s Humanities class. I will admit, it made me a bit nostalgic. It was raining, we had just eaten some fast food, and now we were watching a play...flashback to Shakespeare Santa Cruz with Aunt Linda and Uncle Allan! Then it was off to Alpine to pick up T. and get me back to Provo in time for a date- and a second date with the same lad! We went to the Cannon Center for dinner, and then went to a performance with the BYU Singers and Concert Choir. It was nice-some songs I definitely preferred over others, but overall it was a great concert.  Unfortunately, by the time it was over, it was absolutely pouring outside, which made for a mad dash home and very wet hugs. Then I went with T., C., and A. up to T.'s house in Alpine for a sleepover, complete with vintage video games and watching Hercules for the first time!!

Sunday: We went to T.'s old ward, lost the car keys, found the car keys, watched Enchanted in Spanish, and then made it home in time for me to go to J&J's for some Alaskan Halibut. Yum-they treat me far too nicely! Then it was back to P-town for ward prayer, home teaching, and mentally preparing for the longest two days of my life. 

....and now, it's Tuesday! Monday was the usual classes/studying circuit. I can't wait for the end of school-I'll probably head over to J&J's tonight to see the g-units who flew in from Washington :) Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so grateful for everything that I have. College has been a blast so far, and I can't wait for what the end of the semester and the start of Winter semester will bring!

new obsession.

Today was a relatively normal day. Classes, bio review, finding out I'll have to take the Bio test later than expected because of some delays by the teacher, laundry, and then gym. BUT THEN. Ho. Ly. Cow. I discovered Downtown Abbey while doing my laundry to pass the time. And I am totally and completely hooked. After I finished homework....I may or may not have watched six episodes in a row and left my laundry unfolded. Even though I could have folded laundry at the same time....but it was too good to be distracted from. AHHH.

The drama is great, the English accents perfect, and it has Professor McGonagall as a leading star. What's not to love?!

welcome wednesday!

The week. Is almost. Over. The battle is half over! Today, I will admit, I had a bit of a minor freakout as I sat down for calc because I wanted it to be Thanksgiving. Right. Now. I want a break, time to relax, great food, family, and friends to be here.

Ok, aside from that rant, Wednesday was not too shabby! Classes, homework done, some bio help for the quiz AND test on Friday, more homework done, and finally braving the hike to the gym! It's probably been two weeks since I last went and it felt great :) Even though the walk there and back left me frozen...at the very least, my walking allowed me to see some awesome sunsets:

Tonight the curtain is up on the other side of the bed...but no ghetto pictures, sorry :) Tomorrow is TWO bio reviews, laundry day since I'm running out of clothes, and hopefully another trip to the gym! 

temple tuesday!

I went to the Provo temple for the first time ever today! It was amazing how efficient they are to deal with all of the traffic that they get-there was a separate entrance inside for the baptistry and a whole system set up for us! After our trip, we headed to the Blue Line Café in the Tanner Bldg (where the business & accounting schools are) for a delicious lunch of tomato-basil soup and ham and cheese with spinach and apples. Yummy. Then it was time to finish homework and study for the Bio quiz and test this week. Woohoo!

I have had a lot of trouble sleeping the past couple of nights because of a squint-inducing lightpost outside our window. The solution? Taped-up curtains!

Yeah, I know it looks a little sketchy...but hopefully it will solve the problem! I've only noticed the light on the one half of the window that is now covered up, but we'll have to see if it's on the other side too.

Monday Madness!

Well. I thought this week might be a little bit of a break after last week, but I was wrong! Today started with a bio quiz (95!) and a Spanish test that I thought went well. It was in my PD Bio class that I found out that our next test would open on Thursday and that we would have another quiz, all to be done before Thanksgiving. I also have a Spanish presentation. Woohoo for busy weeks-at least I will have Thanksgiving break as a reward! Now, officially, I don't get out until Tuesday afternoon, but what most teachers have said is that they will be lecturing on unimportant topics. So I may be able to escape early :)

This text from home today definitely got me in the Thanksgiving mood:

How cute is that?! I leave for school and all of a sudden the house is painted, beautiful crafts appear to decorate the hallway/mantle themselves...sigh. Did I mention I have stickies that say "Happy Thanksgiving" on my dorm door?

It may not compare...but hey, it's what I've got :) Countdown to Turkey Day-go!

sunday school success!!!

I apologize for the lack of a post yesterday! Some nights you just stay up toooo late watching the latest James Bond movie and get home from the movie theaters very cold and tired so you just go to bed :) A recap of Saturday and Sunday, then, is as follows:

Saturday: Waking up to a fresh snowfall (the first big one of the season), being productive and getting homework done, car confusion, lots of walking, a quarter of the football game because our seats were snowdrifts, Starbuck's hot chocolate in Christmas cups, Skyfall, and a light snowfall that night/the next morning!

Good morning!

Let's beat Idaho State!

Blurry, but check out those snowdrifts for seats...

Cheers!

Christmas cups. my favorite ever!!!!
seminary memories....

Sunday: Waking up late, walking to church in the snow, a successful Sunday School lesson (talking! yay!), some organ contemplation, a delicious dinner at J&J's (minus S.-we missed you!), back home for Skype Sundays and serenades. School tomorrow brings a test and a quiz. 

Live, free concert. Score!

 

it's the weekend!

Well folks, I survived this week! And ended it quite nicely, complete with ugly Christmas sweater for Ugly Sweater Day (I forgot to take a picture! I guess I'll just have to wear it again... :), listening in on a Jazz Masterclass (sidenote: A- I found your people!!! aka cute geeky indie fancy guitar players.), a basketball game where we beat Tennessee State, another random postcard from Dad, homemade muffins, and Mission Impossible. Not too shabby!

The defining event of today was definitely the SNOW. Originally the forecast called for rain, but it started raining this morning at 10 and literally has not stopped since. Amazing! I realized that I really like the snow because it reminds me so much of skiing and McCall. I swear, it even smells like those places!

Looking at the library

Can you believe this blizzard I had to walk through this afternoon?! Just crazy. And it's only gotten deeper since then...

Braving the storm!

We saw some fun snowmen and even a snowcat! The best was a snow toilet though...super weird but a nearly exact replica!

Great student seating, no?

Yes, we were that high up for the game...not the best view, but it's still fun to go to. I think I'm finally learning the basic rules of basketball and the specialty BYU traditions; like when we score a freethrow, everybody shouts "Whoosh, Cecil!" and points to where our school president Cecil O. Samuelson sits. Fun stuff like that :)

Tomorrow brings homework and preparation for a Sunday School lesson...I hope I have the strength to withstand eating my treats that I'll be making! Haha.

Communal review.

Oh my goodness. Today was actually okay, albeit some of the usual craziness! I had class, and then studied in the JSB for my Book of Mormon test, which I got a 97 on! Woohoo yay, as A. used to say :) Then it was time to rush home to get ready for our cleaning check, which we passed "with flying colors". Bam! And then...it was time for dinner with Pa! He humored me and let me choose where to go. I decided to check out a restaurant that some of my friends from back home had talked about, Communal. on University Ave. We went and OH MAN. It was deeeeelicious. Sooooo yummy! It was a little pricy, which I apologized to Pa about...I should have realized/done some research! 

ordering. all fancy.

Just chatting with our waiter about what they had to offer. You know. Because I'm such a food connoisseur....

On to the food. THE FOOD. We ordered half of the Gala Apple Salad, with goat cheese and pistachios, and the Fall Mushroom Toast, with herb grilled bread, tomato jam, and manchego, half of the trout and chicken, and twice baked sweet potatoes with bacon brittle, and then cheddar hush puppies with lime and smoked pepper jelly. MY WORD. So delicious! I felt like I was at Marché (this restaurant that my parents and I visited) again! Yum yum yum.

Salad and bread

What's left of dinner.. (chicken, trout, sweet potatoes)

And they also had basil limeade! A nice refreshing way to wash everything down. Tart and perfect. Thought of you, Dad!

And as if the start to the weekend hasn't been fabulous enough...tomorrow is Ugly Sweater Day at BYU! Which means I'm breaking this bad boy out...

Look for pictures tomorrow! Haha. I'm sure they'll be great. And thanks again Pa for the delicious dinner! Fun to talk to you and have a good time. Ok... and Mom/Dad + the siblings, can you believe it's two weeks TO THE DAY until Thanksgiving?!! We'll get to reunite, along with Amma and Grandpa Ned! For the win :)

Almost through!

I have almost made it through this crazy week! I finished my organ test (results unknown) and my bio test (88!); found out my bio quiz was postponed until Monday (yay!), and only have to worry about my cleaning check and Book of Mormon test tomorrow! Whew.

Tonight also included some Spanish Skyping...with this guy!

G2. Not dos equis.

And okay, I love Christmas and am just as excited about it as the next person...but don't we agree that pre-Thanksgiving is a little early for the Christmas decorations to come up?! I was studying in the Wilk today because one of my classes was canceled and was confronted with this:

Too soon. But maybe that's just me! Hope your holidays (whichever you're celebrating first :) are fun and festive! I heard a rumor there's an awesome Thanksgiving project going on at home...details to come!

study study study.

Whew. While my Book of Mormon class was canceled this morning and I got some extra sleep, I also had extra studying today! After going to the rest of my classes, a devotional with Elder Johnson of the Seventy, and finding out that I got a 90 on my most recent math test (yay!) it was off to register for a Spanish test and a two and a half hour Bio review. Luckily I was able to register to take my Spanish test Monday, otherwise it would have been my fourth test this week! It looks like I'll take my Organ and Bio tests tomorrow, then my Book of Mormon test Thursday. I'll also have a study buddy meeting Thursday if all goes as planned, along with a cleaning check!

Needless to say, I didn't make it to Clubs Night tonight because of all this that I'm trying to absorb:

You guessed it, it's the most effective fingering techniques at the organ! Have I mentioned how much I love that class...

So tonight I missed out on updating BYU's coverage map for their repeater and a party at the Village. So there, Dad...I skipped fun stuff for studying! You should be proud :)

Wish me luck on all my midterms tomorrow! Hopefully they'll be alright and not too much of a monster...